Debts And Promises
by Ladyymermaid
Summary: Sayuri saves Lee from dying from an illness. Lee saves Sayuri from being sold by her father to slave traders. But, wait, Lee is really Zuko-exiled prince of the Fire Nation. What will happen next?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"Please, I need your help!" An old man yelled while rushing into the office, nearly breaking down the door to my fathers inn.

Without question I nodded my head, and began to follow the man. The plump old man led me outside to another man who was laying on an ostrich horse, sweat glistened on his forehead.

"How long has he been ill?" I turned to the man.

"Few days, I thought it might've been a common flu but he hasn't improved."

"Hey," I hollered at a few men passing by. "Can you get him into the office."

They looked at me for a moment before nodding their head, grabbing the man off the ostrich horse. They carried him with ease and placed him onto the table where I usually check in and out people who stay.

I pushed all the paperwork and decorations onto the floor, not caring if they broke or were unorganized.

"Oh dear," the older man mumbled.

I reached into my pocket and took out four silver coins and handed them to the two men that helped me. They thanked me and were off.

"Let's see what I can do," I said to the old man. I began by taking a rag and putting it into the bucket of cool water beside me. I rung out the rag and placed onto the mans forehead. Next, I removed his shirt and pants, leaving him in his underwear.

I looked for any wounds or bruises.

"Your son?"

"No, nephew."

"Travelers?"

"Yes, to Ba Sing Se,"

"What did you eat before he got sick?" I looked at him.

"Stew, from a small shop a few days travel from here."

"Hm," I thought for a moment. Then I took the cool water bucket and dumped it onto him. I walked bent down to one of the cabinets and grabbed a jar of medicine. I tilted the mans head up and poured a little bit into his mouth.

"His fever will drop. Here," I handed the man a jar of herbs. "Give him this twice a day until his symptoms go away and then reduce it to once a day until it's gone. It should heal him. If you're travelers he probably got the springtime flu, everyone around here gets it once when we're kids, he has it because he's not from around here."

"So, my nephew will be okay?"

"Yes he will be perfectly fine," I smiled at the man. "Although, I guess I should've thought about it before having the men place him on my table. Oh well, his fever should go down any minute and he should wake up. Give him things that'll be soft on the stomach, soups, bread, things like that."

The man nodded his head, "thank you so much, there must be something I can do to repay you."

"Oh no, we're at war, I understand that people don't have money so I don't ask any for when they're sick. Besides, these herbs are all over the land around here, I'm not spending money on anything." I said while walking over to a small table, the man following behind me.

We sat down and I watched as he looked around the room.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." I smiled at him. "Um, would you like some tea while we wait for your, uh, nephew you said, right?" I said, already preparing to walk to the small kitchen beside my makeshift office.

"Yes he is my nephew. Please," he smiled. "I love tea."

I smiled back at him and grabbed the tea pot, "you look familiar."

"Oh, yes, I get told that quite a lot."

"You're nephew looks familiar too." I pursed my lips together, trying to think of where I saw them as I poured the tea into the cups.

"Do you own this inn?"

"My father does, he's in town right now. This used to be our home, but since my mother died we decided to open up the inn. We have many rooms to do it."

"That is smart, many travelers come through here and it's a decent price from what I can tell. You could make more money if you were to charge for your medical services."

"I don't want any money, just people to be healthy and safe." I said, and then took a sip of my tea. "Besides, my mother didn't charge for her services, I'm not gonna charge for mine."

"Uncle," the mans voice interrupted our conversation.

"Lee," the old man exclaimed as he rushed to his side.

"Why am I all wet?"

"Well, you had a high fever and the best way to cool you down was by dumping water on you." I smiled at him. "I'm sure you're cold now, let me get you a blanket and some new clothes."

I rushed down the small hallway to the linen closet and grabbed a blanket and some old clothes of my fathers. I walked back but could hear them speaking in low whispers. I didn't want to be nosy but I could hear the old man call the younger one Zuko a few times. _Why does that name seem familiar?_ I shrugged my shoulders and walked back into the main room, walking over to the younger man and handing him the blanket. He was standing now, and walked over to one of the chairs and sat down.

"This nice young lady gave me some herbs that'll help you get better." The man said.

The younger man didn't say anything, he just sent a nod in my direction as if he was saying thank you. I studied him for a minute. The scar on his face stood out to me, as I'm sure it does to everyone. My heart went out to the poor guy.

"Well," the older man said as he was helping the younger one put the blanket on him "we better—

"—You can stay here," I interrupted. "I know you two travel a lot and since he's sick still it would be a lot better to sleep in a nice bed in our inn."

"Thank you, but we don't have any money."

"Well, that's okay. You'll be doing me a favor, trust me." I said, realizing that it was slowly getting dark, which meant my father would be home soon.

"Well, if you insist." The older man said.

I smiled warmly at them and ushered them upstairs to the bedrooms. "We usually get a lot of business on colder days, since it's been so warm people haven't been really finding a need to stay in an inn, but we do manage to do pretty well."

"That is lovely to hear, by the way I never asked your name."

"Oh, its Sayuri." I smiled at them. "And you two are?"

"Oh, I'm Mushi and my nephew here is Lee."

"Well, I hope you enjoy your stay." I said opening the door to the small, but comfortable bedroom. It had two mats for sleeping and a small desk for writing. A small collection of books and other things that guests could find useful or relaxing.

He said thank you and I headed downstairs to fix up the desk at the front. It was late and a few other people checked in, mostly women brining their clients to the rooms that their clients paid for. This happened often and my father said it was good for business, if they pay we don't complain. It was always an awkward encounter when I was the one checking them in. But, it put food on the table and the men had money to spare.

It was late, around midnight when my father finally arrived back home—drunker than drunk. He could barely walk, but he and his buddy decided that it would be best to leave the bar (since they got kicked out of it) and head back home to see who could drink the most out of the bottles of sake we had.

"Eh, this your daughter?" The man hiccuped as he smiled a nearly toothless grin at me.

"Yup, that's the little _slut_ I told you about."

My heart tightened as he said this. I loved my father dearly, but drunk him and sober him were like day and night. It was a constant back and forth of verbal abuse and apologies. His heart was broken, and it couldn't be fixed.

"She's real pretty," he said licking his lips. His eyes on me for far too long. He walked down the hall and into the room my father was in.

"Yeah, she's gonna bring in some money." I overheard him say in a very loud whisper.

"Whaddya mean?" The other man whispered back.

"I thought I'd sell her."

"Sell her?" The man laughed. "How much? When?"

"I have someone from the Fire Nation coming to pick her up early in the mornin'," my father hiccuped. "He's gonna pay me a hefty price for her. Can't stand lookin' at her."

I froze completely. _Sell me?_ My own father was going to sell me? I left the desk and ran to my room. I contemplated on the things I should do. Should I run? Should I hide? What could I do? My heart was shattered, I never thought that he would do something think this to me. All because I looked just like my mother. I had the same brown hair as her, the same pale skin, the same green eyes. I was just like her and my father loved her to pieces.

It was so unexpected when she never came back from her usual errands. She usually would go out and collect herbs and go to the market before coming home and making breakfast. But, on this one particular day the birds weren't chirping. The wind wasn't blowing. There were no sounds. It was quiet.

The next thing I knew a few men in Fire Nation solider uniforms knocked on our door. They informed us my mother had died along with a few other men and women. My father had a break down and I was left devastated.

Morning came faster than I expected it to. I walked into the main entry way and was greeted by Mushi and a much healthier looking Lee who were ready to go on their way. My father was awake, pacing the floor. Thinking of how he's going to tell me that he plan's on selling me probably.

Before I could say goodbye to Mushi and Lee a fire nation solider walked into the room. He scanned the room and I watched as Mushi and Lee hurriedly walked back up to their room, claiming to have forgotten something.

"This her?" The man asked while pointing a finger at me.

My father didn't have the chance to answer before two other men walked in. One grabbed me instantly and I began to try to kick my feet and get away, but his grip was too tight. My father began to protest, begging them to let me go. That he changed his mind. That he was drunk. That he made a mistake, but they just laughed.

I began to scream as loud as I could for anyone to help me. That they were trying to take me, to sell me, maybe even take me and rape me.

The soldier in charge threw a box of money onto the floor that spilled and revealed a whole chest full of gold pieces. Almost a fortune.

The man holding me smacked me across the face and I shut up instantly.

"Hey, don't hurt her too bad." He said.

"Sorry," the man holding me yelled. "She was fucking hurting my ears."

I looked back at my father who was too busy with the money he just got for me and the the third man stood beside him, just incase he decided to run after me. He didn't. He made no move to rescue me as soon as he saw the money. He made no effort to even say goodbye or that he was sorry. There were only two things that meant anything to him after my mom died: booze and money.

Fire unexpectedly stopped the men in their tracks. I turned back and saw Mushi and Lee begin to fight the men. The man holding me tried to usher me outside while the man in charge and the one beside my father began engaging in battle.

Lee swiftly and gracefully knocked one man on his feet, and pulled out a pair of dao swords off his back. He took him down almost immediately and took the second one down in a matter of seconds. Fire nation soldiers who couldn't bend were almost useless, and probably the reason why they became slave traders.

"Disgraceful." I heard Mushi say to my father. "Letting your own daughter be sold to the lowest men to crawl among the earth."

The third man, the one holding me, let me go immediately and ran for his life. I began to cry and instead of running to my father and hugging him like I used to when I was afraid, I ran to Mushi and thanked him for saving me.

I turned to Lee and thanked him.

"You saved my life." He replied.

After a few moments they began to leave, and I knew I didn't have to ask permission. I hastily followed behind them. Not looking back at my father once.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone! I have been rewatching this series for like the hundredth time to show my little sister (she's 9) the amazingness of Avatar. She's already on the 3rd season and is always bugging to watch it. I'm so proud! I just wanted to let everyone know that I will post as often as I can. Lately I've been pretty busy with school and my website. I've been trying to get people to join my online book club, so if you're interested feel free to message me and I'll fill you in on all the details. Anyways, enjoy! Please review and follow/favorite!**

 **-ladyymermaid**

Chapter Two

 _Day One_

I sat by the water for a few moments and thought about my life and all that had changed. I think Lee thought I looked sad since he gave me some berries.

I smiled at him.

He gave me a half smile back.

 _Day Two_

We had to travel quietly. Fire Nation troops were everywhere and if we were caught sneaking around near them, we could be executed Mushi informed me.

 _Day Three_

I missed my bed. I took comfort sleeping close to Lee. Not right beside him, but close enough to where I could extend my arm and touch him. If it bothered him he didn't say anything.

 _Day Four_

Mushi was obsessed with tea. I thought it was sort of funny. Lee always looked annoyed.

Day Five

Flowers finally began to bloom. It made me think of my mother.

Day Six

"Don't wander off too far," Mushi said once I announced I would be collecting some wood for a fire.

I looked at him, surprised. "I won't," I said and began to walk.

Lee showed up beside me without saying anything and began to help me collect wood. He was nicer than the vibe he gave off.

Day Seven

I went to collect some berries alone today. I didn't take more than a minute and when I came back a fire was already made. It was large and burned hot. I began to grow suspicious.

Day Eight

We stayed near a Earth Kingdom village tonight. I saw wanted posters of a lot of people. Two posters stood out to me. Prince Zuko and General Iroh. They looked an awful lot like Mushi and Lee.

Day Nine

I was crying. Mushi was snoring. Lee was looking at me, concerned.

I just shook my head and wiped away my tears. He sat beside me and helped me calm down. He smelled like cinnamon.

Day Ten

I gasped as we approached a meadow full of rose-lilies. They were my mothers favorite flower and we had a small garden in the back for her memory. I felt a few tears stream down my cheeks.

"What's wrong?" Lee asked, shocked that I was crying.

"They're so beautiful." I smiled at him. "They make me think of my mother. I think she's telling me I'm doing the right thing—being here with you, I mean."

He blushed lightly and looked away.

Mushi placed an arm around me. "Spirits are always all around us, I'm sure she is happy you got away."

Mushi was wise and kind.

Day Eleven

Mushi was sitting in front of a bush with a flower growing from it. He looked at me and then to Lee and said, "You're looking at the rare White Dragon bush. Its leaves make a tea so delicious, it's heartbreaking. That, or it's the White Jade bush, which is poisonous."

I looked at him and titled my head. I knew a bit about herbs and flowers, but this plant I knew nothing about.

"We need food, not tea. I'm going fishing." Lee said, irritated.

"Hmm... Delectable tea or deadly poison."

"Um, Mushi, you're not really going to make that into tea. Are you?"

"Of course I am," he said and began to get all the things necessary to make the tea.

I looked away for about a second, and he already had a fire going. I raised my eyebrow. It takes me at least ten minutes to get somewhat of a good fire going and I've been making them all my life. How could he get one going in seconds? It was confirmed now that he was a firebender.

"I really wouldn't," I said. "You never know if it's the White Jade bush."

"This old man isn't going to waste the opportunity, probably my only opportunity, to try a cup of tea from the White Dragon Bush."

I sighed, who could argue with that?

The tea finished brewing, he offered me some. I declined.

He took a sip and spit it out.

"Oh no," I muttered as his arms began to go red and blotchy. I began to panic. Where is Lee?

"Once the rash spreads to my neck, it will close my throat." He said calmly.

"Oh no," I said again. "Stay here. I'm going to find Lee."

I took off running in the direction Lee walked off to.

"Lee!" I hollered. "Lee!"

There he was walking toward me with the tiniest fish I've ever seen. If I wasn't in a panic, and Mushis life wasn't in danger, I would have laughed.

"Hurry!" I said. "Mushi is in trouble."

When we got there Mushi was singing a tune. He was somewhat delirious.

"Zuko, remember that plant that I thought might be tea?" He said.

"Uncle," Lee said in response and looked at me with a panicked look on his face. "You didn't."

"I did."

Mushi turned around to reveal his face—it was now swollen and red. The rash spread within a matter of minutes.

"and it wasn't."

I immediately felt guilty. I should have knocked the tea right out of his hands.

"But," Mushi exclaimed and held up a branch of berries. "Look what I found! These are Pakui berries, known to cure the poison of the White Jade plant. That, or Makaola berries that cause blindness."

I facepalmed, and let my mouth fall open at Mushi's stupidity. He was so wise but what he was doing was absolutely idiotic.

"We're not taking any more chances with these plants. We need to get help." Lee said, smacking the berries from Mushi's hands.

We were in a small room, while a girl rubbed ointment on Mushi. She was giving him a lecture on not itching the ointment and how silly it was that he turned a poisonous plant into tea.

"Do you have names?" She asked after telling us her name was Song.

"Uh, yes, of course. I'm Lee and this is my uncle Mushi."

I waited for Lee to introduce me but he never did. Mushi sent him a glare.

"I'm sorry," I muttered. "I'm Sayuri."

"Yes, my nephew and his girlfriend." Mushi smiled at Song.

Her face faltered a bit, but she smiled again. "Oh well, nice to meet you all. Would you like to join my family for dinner? I can tell you're travelers, and it's probably been a while since you've had a decent meal, right?"

"No," Lee immediately said. She was turned around now, so she couldn't see the scowl on Lee's face.

"Oh, that's too bad." She looked at me, almost in a judging way but she still smiled. "My mom always makes too much roast duck."

Mushi popped his head out from behind her. "What time did you say?"

I saw Lee talking to that girl Song after dinner. I couldn't help but feel jealous when she touched his face. I scoffed at myself, _what right do I have to feel jealous? He's not really mine._

Some time after, Lee pulled me onto the ostrich horse from Songs family. And we road off.

Day Twelve

"Why did you lie?" I said.

It was midday, the sun was hot.

"About?" Lee asked.

"Your name."

He looked down at me.

"I heard Mushi say it. His name is really Iroh, right?"

He looked at me like he was expecting me to scream. Run. Anything.

Everybody knew who Zuko was—the banished prince. The unwanted son. The burden. He was shunned all his life except from his uncle. The notorious Dragon of the West, who nearly took down the great walled city Ba Sing Se. The death of his son broke his heart and he retreated.

I stopped walking and hugged Zuko. I felt him jump for a moment but he returned the hug. Mushi looked down at us from the ostrich horse and smiled.

Day Thirteen

We were in a village, low on money. Iroh was begging for money. I felt humiliated. I wasn't rich, but I was privileged. I always had some money in my pocket, a bed to sleep in, food on the table. My humiliation began to shift to guilty. How many poor people have I walked by ignoring?

"This is humiliating! We're royalty. These people should be giving us whatever we want." Zuko said.

"They will—if you ask nicely." Iroh said.

Zuko (it was still so weird knowing that was his name) looked at me like he was expecting me to chime in.

A man walked by and told Iroh he'd give us a gold coin if he sang for him. Iroh, of course, obliged and stood up beginning to sing. The man then took out dao swords and began to hit the ground to make Iroh dance. I felt Zuko tense up, but he didn't say anything.

"Hey," I stood up. "Stop!"

The man laughed, and dropped the coin. "Nothing like seeing a fat man dance for his dinner." He moved his eyes toward me and looked me up and down.

I had my hair pulled to the side in a braid to keep it from getting tangled and I was wearing a plain green kimono with pink cheery blossoms trailing from the bottom up to the sides. I was completely covered in dust from traveling and sleeping on the ground so often.

"You're a pretty thing." He stepped towards me. "I'd pay for a night with you."

I stepped back, toward Zuko—who was now standing—he pushed me behind him.  
"Fuck off," Zuko muttered to the man.

The man didn't say anything, he just laughed and walked away.

"Thank you," I whispered to Zuko, but felt completely guilty.

Day Fourteen

I woke up to Zuko returning with a bunch of food and money. I knew better than to ask but I hoped he didn't kill anyone.

Day Fifteen

"There's no honor for me without the Avatar." Zuko said to Iroh.

"Zuko." He sighed. "Even if you did capture the Avatar, I'm not so sure it would solve our problems. Not now."

I remember when Zuko was banished. I was thirteen at the time and everyone was talking about it. Men and women were both upset that their leader—their fire lord—had scarred and banished his only son. No one really knew why but they all agreed that the prince shouldn't have been treated that way.

 _"_ _A wild hog-monkey chase." A villager had said. "Sending his son after the non existent avatar."_

I immediately felt bad for him. It was sad.

With word of the avatar resurfacing, I immediately thought of the banished prince. I forgot his name and it was a distant memory but my heart went out to him—and the avatar. "Then there's no hope at all."

"No, Zuko! You must never give into despair. Allow yourself to slip down that road, and you surrender to your lowest instincts. In the darkest times, hope is something you give yourself. That is the meaning of inner strength."

It was my turn to cook dinner, and it was the first time I had in a long time. With the money Zuko had stolen I bought a variety of vegetables and meat and decided to make it into a simple yet flavorful stew. I made a bowl for each of us and handed one to Iroh, who smiled and thanked me.

I smiled back at him. Then I handed Zuko a bowl.

I waited for him to say thank you, but he never did. I tried to not let it bother me.

"This is good," Iroh said.

"There's more if you want it." I said after making myself a bowl.

"Uncle... I thought a lot about what you said." Zuko said.

"You did? Good, good." Iroh looked at him.

"It's helped me to realize something. We no longer have anything to gain by traveling together. I need to find my own way." He got up and began to walk out.

Iroh's smile was replaced with a frown and I just looked at him, expecting him to go after him.

"Wait," I got up and ran after Zuko. "Take me with you."

"Stay with my uncle."

"No," I yelled. "I-I wanna go with you."

He hesitated for a moment but he pulled me onto the ostrich horse with him. I blushed slightly as he pulled me close to him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! Hope you enjoy this chapter! Please review, favorite, and/or follow! Thanks so much!**

 **-Ladyymermaid**

* * *

Chapter 3

The sun was beating down on us as we ventured through the Earth Kingdom. We were tired, starving, and thirsty. Our ostrich horse could barely walk, but he managed to somehow make it.

It started to rain, and we found shelter in an abandoned building—the rest of the village had collapsed probably due to fire.

"Sayuri," Zuko called out to me. "Do you want a fire?"

I pulled the ostrich horse into the small building with us. "If it's not too much trouble."

He looked at the ostrich horse and then to me and shook his head, "why are you bringing him in here?"

"Because it's cold out and he's just as tired, if not more, than us. He deserves to be sheltered."

Zuko didn't argue with me, but instead went back out into the rain to try to find us some wood. He was gone for a little while. I sat in the dark trying to stay alert, just incase he came back or something was wrong.

When Zuko finally did arrive, he was completely drenched. I felt bad at first, but he put down a sack of some food.

"Where did you get this?" I asked him.

"Don't ask, just eat." He replied to me as he took a small handful of money and put it in his pocket.

I was tempted to ask again, but decided not to and picked up some fruit. I put it in front of the ostrich horse, who squawked.

"You're welcome," I smiled at him.

Zuko just looked at me like I was silly.

I dug through the bag and found several bowls that were holding various treats and fruit and meat. I emptied the stuff into one bowl and took the five remaining bowls and stuck them outside in the rain. Letting them fill up before giving some to the ostrich horse, myself, and Zuko.

Once I put the bowls back in the rain, I decided to eat.

The food Zuko brought back was expensive—the type of food only a nobleman would eat.

He asked me not to ask, but my mind started to wander. How could he have gotten food like this without hurting someone?

"I didn't kill anyone if thats what you're thinking," he said as if he was reading my mind.

"I wasn't gonna ask." I said.

"I know, but I can see it written all over your face."

We sat in silence for the remainder of the meal. The ostrich horse fell asleep, and was beginning to snore. The poor thing was so exhausted, and I was thankful to Zuko for getting the food for it, and us.

"We should name him." I said, looking from the ostrich horse to Zuko.

"Why?" He said, not at all amused.

I shrugged my shoulders, "he deserves it."

He didn't say anything more and immediately went to bed.

In the middle of the night I sat up to a panic. I looked around the small building, forgetting where I was for a second. I saw Zuko curled up by the dying fire, he was shivering. I had the only blanket, so I decided to move closer to him. The blanket wasn't exactly large, but it was big enough to cover us both, there just wasn't a lot of space.

I picked up the blanket and put it on him first before I got under the covers too. He tensed up at first, but immediately relaxed when I laid beside him. I tried my best not to get too close, knowing that he had an issue with me—or anyone—getting too close to him.

I was surprised when he wrapped his arm around me and pulled me closer to him. I was even more in shock when I heard him mumble, "Sayuri."

I blushed and tried my best not to think too much about it, but my mind prevented me from falling asleep.

After hours of restlessness, my eyes finally grew tired and I fell asleep only to be woken up to Zuko—who wakes up when the sun rises.

He shook me awake, "lets go, we have a long way to go."

"I didn't sleep." I mumbled, while slowly getting up. I felt sick, and weird, like my whole body and mind was exhausted.

He didn't acknowledge my protest, and made me get up. We collected the bowls that were full of water and drank some before leaving. Zuko made some type of funnel to pour the water into a container for us to have.

Then we were off once again.

We traveled for three more days before finally making it to another village. We had trekked through the desert, and had eaten up all the food and drank all the water.

We arrived at a small, barely populated village.

Zuko hopped off the ostrich horse, and let it towards a small shop that advertised food and animal feed.

He placed the coins on the table. "Two hot meals, and a bag of food please."

The man frowned at us, "It's not enough for two meals, but I can get you the bag of feed."

Zuko simply nodded his head in response.

I looked around the village while we waited. Everyone was dirty, and they looked hungry. They stared back at us warily, the village wasn't comfortable with us here. They must not get very many visitors. I could see why.

The moment we walked into the village, dust covered my entire body. It felt like it was in my mouth and I knew it was all in my hair. I needed, and wanted a bath.

I got off the ostrich horse and moved closer to Zuko. Suddenly beside the shop, appeared two boys. One boy threw an egg at the group of soldiers. I watched, not sure if I should be amused or annoyed at their actions.

The soldiers looked at Zuko, not hesitating before making their way to him.

"You throwing eggs at us stranger?" A solider asked, I assumed he was the leader.

"No." Zuko responded.

"You see who did throw it?" The solider responded.

Zuko turns around to face them. "No."

Another solider said, "that your favorite word, no?"

They looked more irritated, and I stayed close to Zuko.

"Egg had to come from somewhere." The leader responded.

Zuko turned back around to the shop. "Maybe a chicken flew over."

One of the soldiers laughs, and the leader glared at him. I stood silently, and watched as the bag of feed was placed on the counter for Zuko to grab, but the leader steps around him and grabs them.

"Thanks for your contribution. The army appreciates your support." The leader says. His eyes finally look at me, and I feel myself shiver. "You better leave town. Penalty for stayin's a lot steeper than you can afford stranger. Trust me." He pats his hammers, indicating that he would harm us.

He looked at me for a moment longer, and then left with the soldiers.

"They're supposed to protect us from the Fire Nation, but they're just a bunch of thugs. Keep an eye on your wife there, Gow won't hesitate just 'cause she's yours."

Zuko looked at me, he had no expression of worry on his face, but he did pull me closer to him. He led to me the ostrich horse, when the little kid who threw the egg popped up in front of us.

"Thanks for not ratting me out!" He smiled.

The pig farm was larger than I expected it to be, and louder. The sun was setting and we had just finished a wonderful meal made my Lees mom. Lee insisted that we come to his house, since he owed us for not telling the soldiers on him. Lee was hyper, and asked too many questions, but was a nice boy. Earlier, Zuko went and helped Lee's dad with the roof while I stayed behind and helped his mother with dinner.

Sela, Lees mom, smiled at me before asking, "how long have you two been married?"

I looked at Zuko, confused on what to say. He didn't give me any expression, so I answered with, "we're not married."

"Oh so you two must be engaged?" She beamed at me.

"Yes," Zuko replied before I got a chance to talk.

"When will you two wed?" She smiled wider.

"When we reach Ba Sing Se," he lied. "It'll be easier for us to settle down in a city protected from the Fire Nation."

"Yes," I continued with the lie. "It'll be easier for us to start our family when we know we're protected within the walls."

Sela smiled, and then got up to clean the kitchen and dinner table. I got up and began to help, after I sent Zuko a 'are you crazy?' look.

We were shown to the barn, where we were told we could stay as long as we needed. We both thanked the family for letting us stay, even though I wanted to leave as soon as possible.

"Why did you tell them that we were engaged?" I crossed my arms and glared at Zuko.

He shrugged, "it's easier for us to let them assume that we are. Next time someone thinks we're married, we should just let them believe it."

I wanted to argue about it, but I knew why he wanted us to lie. It's less suspicious for us to pretend were a couple instead of two random strangers traveling together. People are more welcoming to families. I wouldn't be surprised if he wanted me to lie and say I was pregnant. I turned bright red at the thought.

I laid down beside Zuko, who was already trying to fall asleep. He didn't turn to look at me, or say anything and I left him alone.

I wonder how Iroh was doing, I didn't know much about their relationship except whatever rumors the soldiers would talk about back home. Iroh was a powerful man, but he lost his only son and retreated from Ba Sing Se after a 600 day siege. Zuko was like his son, and it was easy to tell that Zuko admired his uncle. It was unclear to me why we were traveling separate, but the fact that Iroh didn't stop Zuko meant that he knew Zuko needed this separation.

"Why are you here?" Zuko broke my train of thought.

I looked over at him. Why did I choose to stick with Zuko? He wasn't the nicest, and he spent most of the time ignoring me, but I felt like I owed him for something though. He risked a lot fighting against those soldiers back home, and although I know he feels like he paid me back for saving his life, I felt like healing his illness was nothing compared to what he did for me.

I shrugged my shoulders, "I owe you."

He scoffed, "no, you don't."

"Shush, I do. You may think were even, but what I did for you was nothing compared to what you and Iroh did for me. I owe you both."

He looked surprised with my answer, but didn't say anything else. Instead, he just scooted closer to me, and put his arms around me. It wasn't until he held me, and I felt the heat of his body, that I realized I was cold.

I looked up at him, moving my arm up so my fingers could touch his face. I lightly traced his scar. At first, he moved slightly away so I couldn't touch it, but I didn't care. It was apart of he is, and even if it brought back a bad memory for him, I wanted him to know I didn't find it repulsive.

He closed his eyes, "it doesn't bother you?"

"No," I scooted up to him, and lightly kissed his scar.

He gasped lightly, surprised that I allowed my lips to touch him.

I got comfortable again, and continued to let my fingers trace his scar. He opened his eyes, and put his face closer to mine.

Very, very, softly, he allowed his lips to touch mine, but he pulled away before I could even register that it happened.


End file.
